San Jose councilman denies hitting man on bike with his car, paying him off

A San Jose councilmember is under the spotlight after he allegedly hit a man on a bicycle and then paid him off.

A downtown city worker, who did not want to be identified, witnessed the alleged crash and captured it on video. She shared it with the San Jose Spotlight first.

It shows Councilman Arjun Batra at the scene of last Wednesday’s alleged crash at San Fernando and Fourth streets.

The witness said she recognized Batra as the one out of his car, talking with the man and then handing over money, which turned out to be $40.

A photo of the man’s bike showed the rear wheel bent.

Batra denies hitting the man’s bike but said he did have a “close call” with him. Batra also admitted giving the man $40 after he claimed he was “down on his luck.”

Batra also issued the following statement: “I am at city hall to work on my two top priorities: pedestrian and traffic safety, and homelessness. I am glad that I was able to personally help this man in some small way.”

Source: NBC Bay Area